The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-02-19
A DETECTIVES STORY

| ..H
Ia DETECTIVES STORY.
1tia losu than twopty years ago, ssid
Philip Nourse, that I entered Lebanon
New Hampshire, ono autumn afternoon
With dollar aud hall in my pocket, and
! with two bljstered ieDt, having walked
from NeWberry, Vt. l wasn't tramp,
and yet l had no trade. had been work.
ing around livery Etabio in Newbu1y for
low woeko, and had reached that place
from Montpelier. l had heen recon.
mended to hotel o keeper at Lebanon MS A
good man for porter, but when / arrived
he had just engaged o man, and my cake
was doug b. / hung about the place for
three OF four days saving a couple OF cords
OF wood Tor merchant, and then ntarted
Tor Hanover. I lett Lebanon just at day
break, having slept in barn without the
knowledge Of any one, and having had
aome crAckera aud cheese for my break.
last. While / walked boldly out OF town,
having no reason to fear anybody, /
couldn't afterward remember seeing any,
body astir. ~
Twas bappy.go.lucky Gimp, having no
lamily or relatives to worry about me or 10
depend on my earnings, aud though l vas
hard up and without ambition, was not
u criminal. l had never been arrested in
my life and had no reaGon whatever to
ieSr tho Law, at 10 o'clock tha. forenoon
while eat on log by the roadside taking
n NJ I tf,ot Ali L
gang OF six pefsoas, one OF whom Was
constable and tho otho.a farmers. They
were in wagon and IS the vehicle came
opposite ne they al lesped out. was
seized sand haudcufed with much ado,
while the gang congratulated themselves
on having 80 speedily secured nue.. When
1 asked who they wero and the csunc OF
my arrest wac overwhelmed with curses
ard threats and flung into the wagon. We
headed to tho uouth from which diree,iou
| had come, but alter going two miles
turned into an eaat AID west road, and
going east three miles, We stopped ct o
farm house where about score OF people
had assembled. Threats and curses
greeted my appearance and several neo.
pie cried out that l ought to be lynched,
L
cured tho particulars:
The owner Of tho farm was a man nam
ed Burchard. he was 10 the harnyard al
ter hfeaklRss when q tramp came along
and stopped ct the house and asked for
breakfast. The wife cent him to the barn
and half an hour later her husband stag
gered up to the kitchen door snd said tho
tramp had knitted him, and fell down and
died. The alarm was given, and in an
hour parties were out in search. The wife
was positive thet she could identity tho
tramp, and no eooner did she set eyes on
me than sho cried out that was tho man,
and but for tho determined front OF two or
three other officers If the law I should
have been lynched.
What did l do? Nothing. II l but
opened my mouth Was cn1aed and threat.
ansd. TheTo was no more doubt in their
minds that | was guilty than that it was
daylight. After the inquest I wss taken
to the county jail. At this inquest I was
asked my name, age, residence, occupation,
sc. l gavo them all the information
could, but unfortunately it was not in ms.
favor. If I could prove that had worked
hero md there, that was not proof that
did not commit tho murder. was a
! wanderGr, penniless and iriendles,, and
just the man to do murder, and who could
doubt my guilt after the vile had so clear
ly identified me? I weighed all these
chances against mo. They could not un-
derstand how tho murder hadrome about.
The farmer had not been robbed, although
his coat had been torn and there were
evidences of Btruggle.7 He had been
stabbed with his own jackknife, and The
knife had been left on the ground. He
had been stabbed three tiipea in tho re-
gion of the heart and his fingers were also
cut up. Alter being placed in Jail waa
advised to mako q clean bresst of it, and
because I denied my guilt was denounc.
ed q hardened wretch. The preliminary
examination Wes g farce, and was re-
turned to jail to await my trial and loaded
down with from as desperate character.
One day slouchy young fellow, no.
over twenty years old, named Baker, paid
me visit in jsil. He was tho con OF q
farmer living about 6oven milee from the
scene OF the murder. It appeared that he
had been investigating the case Oh his
own hook, having great ambition to be-
come q detective. He opened the CONVEX
Bation by saying to mo:
"Nouree, they havo made idio!s Of them
aelyesin this case. Ihsye found two per-
SONG in LabaGon who eaw you leave that
place at tho hour you name. I can fur
Their show that you could not have turned
aside, committed tho crime, and got to
the point where you were arrested, even
had you been on horseback. Now, then,
if tho stabbing was done with Burchard's
own knife, what inference do you draw?"
"He had the knife open and in his own
[ hands n ~ - n n, III
Exactly .,i7s
1.-THE murderer took it away from hin? ~
Certainly"
"There was . struggle for the weapon
and Burchard's fingers were cut? ,sz,I
"You have It," 81. \
sand you naturally conclude that the
murderer did not escape Ecot free ?"
G""Thaps the very thing, and il I don't
have him in custody inside OF a week, I'll
esk them TO hang me in your stead" +
He put q chattel mortgage on a horse,
telegaphed to fifty different places, made
two or three short trips, and on the after
noon Of the fourth day returned from
franklin with prisoner, who had been
pahbed none Of his kilograms. The man
was tough looking customer, with hialelt
hand wrspped in very dirty cloth and a
fresh cut about two inches long on bis
chin. When the rag was taken from his
hand two pretty bad cuts were found, and,
though he strenuously denied ever having
been in the locality before, Baker
wss in high feather. He had moved
quietly but vigorously, and his prisoner
entered the Jail without even the sheriff
suspecting what he was charged with.
Baker conGded the case to tho prosecuting
attorney, and it was arranged that Mrs.
Bu,chard ohould visit the Jail. She had
twice identified me rs the tramp and muir.
| darar and thav told her Ind a cnnfnsainn